This invention relates generally to construction tools and, more particularly, to a mobile waterstop welding apparatus specifically configured to weld together two pieces of waterstop that are located at a construction site and positioned in-between or adjacent to rebar.
Waterstop may be used anywhere a fluid, such as water, may seep through a concrete joint. Concrete joints occur when concrete structures are poured in multiple stages. One such example is when a basement's concrete floor is poured and allowed to cure prior to pouring the basement's concrete walls. One or more pieces of waterstop may be embedded into the joint of the wall and the floor to prevent water from seeping into the basement at the wall-to-floor joint. Two pieces of waterstop may be welded together to prevent water from seeping therebetween.
A common practice of welding two pieces of waterstop together includes heating the ends of each piece of the waterstop until they are hot enough to be welded together. A special heating iron may be used in this heating process. Constant pressure may need to be exerted on each piece of waterstop to ensure that each end being heated maintains constant contact with the heating iron during the heating process. When the two ends are properly heated, they are removed from the heating iron and immediately butted together to begin a welding process. To ensure an effective weld, constant pressure may need to be applied to the two pieces as they are welded together.
Care must be taken to ensure that alignment of the two pieces of waterstop is maintained throughout the entire welding process. Maintaining alignment of the two pieces of waterstop can be difficult, especially when the waterstop is located at a construction site and positioned in-between or adjacent to rebar.
Various waterstop welding apparatuses have been proposed in the prior art. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the current devices are not capable of being used for two pieces of waterstop that are positioned in-between or adjacent to rebar and/or they do not effectively maintain alignment of the two pieces of waterstop during the welding process. Existing devices are either too large or cannot be configured into small spaces between rebar in order to quickly and efficiently weld waterstop sections at precisely the location where they are needed.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a welding apparatus that maintains alignment of two pieces of waterstop during the welding process and is capable of being used for two pieces of waterstop that are positioned in-between or adjacent to rebar. Further, it would be desirable to have a welding apparatus capable of applying constant pressure to both pieces of waterstop during the heating process and the welding process.